Reuters | National Poll: Clinton’s wife 48, Bernie Sanders 45

<p>Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reacts as she listens to a question from the audience during a campaign event at Uncle Nancy's Coffee in Newton, Iowa, September 6, 2015. REUTERS/Scott Morgan</p>

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has erased Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s wide lead for the Democratic presidential nomination since the start of year, putting the two in a dead heat nationally, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Clinton leads Sanders 48 percent to 45 percent among Democratic voters, according to the poll of 512 Americans, conducted Feb. 2-5 following the Iowa caucus. The poll has a credibility interval of 5 percentage points.

Democrats had been supporting Clinton by more than a 2-to-1 margin at the beginning of the year. Sanders has narrowed that lead considerably over the past several weeks.